20 Ways to Get Healthy

Sometimes BIG health changes are necessary, but I find that it’s easier to make small, simple changes when trying to improve on my health. It’s easier to make simple lifestyle changes that last than to make changes so drastic that the changes are hard to maintain. Today I am sharing 20 ways to get healthy. Some of the changes are bigger than others, but just starting somewhere is the key!

here are 20 ways to get healthy!

Exercise

Schedule your work outs in. If you don’t write exercise into your schedule, you may not get around to it. At the beginning of the week look at your schedule and make a plan. Add your work out to your calendar and stick to it!

Make a Health and Wellness plan. Sometimes just taking a step back and evaluating where you are with your health and wellness can be motivating. Use this Health & Wellness Planner to help you set goals and track your progress.

Pick an efficient work out. HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is an efficient work out when you are short on time. When you don’t have a large window of time, focus on quality, not quantity. This list also includes links to videos and other work outs that are helpful if you have trouble setting aside a large amount of time to work out.

Set out your clothes the night before. If you are off to work in the morning, all you have to do is grab your gym bag as you head out the door. As you leave work, you won’t have the excuse that you don’t have your gym clothes along.

Track your progress. Write out the detail of your exercise each week or just check off that you did something. Many say a key component of achieving a goal is to write it down. It’s motivating to see the number of days you work out add up. It can also motivate you to improve week to week. Use my free Fitness Tracker printable to record your weekly work outs.

Have a list of work outs ready to go. If you work out at home, don’t spend the first 10 minutes of your work out finding the perfect online work out video. Have a list of your favorites, so you can use your work out time efficiently. Here is a list to get you started. 

Walk on your lunch break. Not only will you be efficiently fitting exercise into your day, but you will probably feel more alert in the afternoon. 

Join a Challenge. Challenges are great because they often provide extra accountability. There is also something to be said about putting a little skin in the game by investing in your health financially. You are probably more likely to follow through if you spend a couple bucks!

Here are a few ideas

• SissFit Membership for 2020 or get their Accelerate Program or Elevate Program
• MUTU System is a 12 week ‘Mummy Tummy’ & Diastasis Recti Program
• Grokker – includes at-home fitness videos and a free 14-day trial
• Occasionally Danielle Pascente offers awesome challenges (you can find out on Instagram if she has a challenge)

Get more fitness tips here: Over 30 Ways to Add Fitness to Your Daily Routine

Diet

Stay hydrated. Be careful about what beverages you consume. Stay away from sweetened beverages that are loaded with extra sugars and empty calories. Stick to water for most of your beverage intake throughout the day. Here are 8 Ways to Drink More Water Each Day.

Or make your own drink with less sugar. Try Pomegranate Spritzer or Thirst-Quencher’s Lemonade.

Keep the junk OUT of the house. This is key for me! When I have a bag of candy or quart of ice cream in the freezer, it’s on my mind. Often. I sometimes wonder why I have so much self-control in some areas and very little in others! If I don’t even buy the treat, I am much better off! Because I joined the #GoodbyeSugar30 Challenge I learned many of the names for sugar. My go-to treats contained quite a few of them. Keeping the treats out of the house makes it easier for me to avoid the extra sugars and calories.

Be prepared and keep healthy snacks on hand. If I have fresh fruit or veggies cut up and ready to go, I am much more likely to reach for them instead of a less healthy snack. When you get home from the grocery store, spend a few minutes washing and cutting up the fruits and veggies. Put them front and center in your refrigerator so you are more likely to grab them. Once your veggies are cut up, try this Sweet Red Pepper Hummus recipe and avoid the added sugars hidden in store‑bought dips. Consider fresh fruit topped with full fat, plain yogurt.

Watch for places where you have total control over removing the added sugars. Tea and coffee are great places to start. Instead of sweetening your coffee or tea with sugar, consider adding SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener instead. For every two teaspoons, or two packets, of sugar you cut, you save yourself 8 grams of added sugar. You could also try a cappuccino or latte sprinkled with cinnamon or nutmeg, and sweetened with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener.

Watch for sugar in condiments, store bought sauces, and salad dressing. Consider making your own. Try out this recipe for Citrus Vinaigrette.

Experiment with reducing or replacing sugar in your favorite recipes. I have been trying this out recently. I have reduced or replaced sugar when making energy bites, granola, french toast, oatmeal, and more. SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener gives a great sweet taste without the calories, added flavors, or artificial ingredients.

Get your entire family involved. It’s easier to make diet changes when you involve your family. Add more fruit and veggies to your entire family’s diet. Consider a garden and get your children involved in the maintenance. Teach your children the benefits of fueling their bodies with healthy food. 

Eat more whole foods. Your body will thank you if you eat more whole foods. Start with simply eating more fruits and vegetables and cutting out processed snack foods.

Focus on a daily habit. Sometimes the best way to start a new habit is to force yourself to do it daily until it becomes your new routine. Make it a daily habit to…

• Start your day off with a healthy breakfast
• Drink plenty of water each day
• Eat fruit and veggies with each and every meal
• Eliminate late-night snacking

Find a high-quality vitamin. Ritual contains 9 essential ingredients. It contains no weird fillers, colorants, or other toxic stuff. Ritual is vegan, non-GMO, and allergen-free. Get Ritual vitamins shipped to you each month! You can skip or cancel anytime.

Ritual also has a new prenatal vitamin as of October 2018.

You may notice that many of the diet changes focus on sugar. I joined the #GoodbyeSugar30 Challenge in October. It wasn’t always easy to cut back on sugar as I neared the end of my pregnancy, but I was still able to make changes and focus on my sugar intake. 

Simply being more educated about sugar made me more aware of all the sneaky places sugar can show up. There are more than 40 names for sugar that may appear on the ingredient lists of the food you eat. SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener is an alternative that gives a great sweet taste with no added flavors and no bitter aftertaste. It’s available at retail stores nationwide in 40 and 80 count boxes. For more information, visit SplendaNaturals.com.

Self-Care

Focus on getting plenty of sleep. If you have trouble making sleep a priority, check out these helpful resources: 

• Sleep It Does a Family Good – book
• Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success – book
• Make Over Your Mornings – eCourse
• How to Create a Morning Routine – printable worksheets that I created
• Your Morning Manual: A Guide & Workbook for Resetting & Maximizing Your Mornings – eBook

Begin your day with quiet/alone time. I find that if I have even a few minutes alone in the morning, my day runs more smoothly. I enjoy waking up before my girls instead of with them, as this gives me time to enjoy my coffee, read my devotion, and hop on the computer. Consider creating a morning routine as a way to reset your morning and get your day started right.

Get outside. Getting outside can restore your mental energy, relieve stress, improve concentration and focus, and improve your mental health. Get fresh air, exercise, vitamin D, and a change of scenery by getting outside.

Know what refreshes you. Figure out what quick activity or treat refreshes and relaxes you. If that gives you a little more patience to get you through the day…schedule it in!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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